Blink-182, Hurts, Enter Shikari also express shock after storm claims lives of at least two festival-goers

Musicians due to play at Pukkelpop festival in Belgium tonight (August 18) have been reacting to the stage collapse which claimed the lives of at least two people.

Noah And The Whale played at Pukkelpop just a few hours before the incident. Frontman Charlie Fink told NME:

We were in our bus when [the storm] happened. The weather got mad, I’ve never seen anything like it, it was almost apocalyptic. It was pitch black like night but was only 5 o’clock. The freakiest part was that it went dead silent and for a festival that isn’t something that usually happens. Then people were just running away. A tree had fallen in the backstage area and a branch had gone straight through one of the tents, it was madness.

Foo Fighters, who were due to headline the Main Stage, tweeted: “Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the tragic events at Pukkelpop.”

Katy B, another performer, confirmed that her set had been cancelled, writing on her Twitter page: “Cant believe the storm at Pukkelpop festival so sad that people have passed away love goes to those that are injured too.”

Fleet Foxes, another band on tonight’s bill, reassured fans of their safety, tweeting: “We are all safe at Pukkelpop. Crazy storm. This is awful. Hearts go out to all.”

A host of other bands and musicians have reacted to the news and offered their sympathies to those affected. Hurts‘ Theo Hutchcraft revealed he found out about the incident shortly after playing a gig at Frequency St Polten in Austria tonight. “Came off stage to the terrible news from Pukkelpop. So, so sad…” he tweeted.